marvelfandomcom-20200222-history
Merlyn (Otherworld)
. Myraddin of Ruta The earliest record of Merlyn can be ascribed to a man named Myraddin of Ruta who's origins and tales are rife with contradictions, connotations and references to the Arthurian legend many centuries prior those legends came to fruition. As this legend goes, Myraddin of Ruta lived on an island called Avalon, a land mass that was once part of Atlantis that survived the Great Cataclysm which occurred around 18000 BC. When the final Priest of the Sun learned of a prophecy that a great fire would destroy Avalon, he sent Myraddin along with all of his ancient artifacts and scrolls along with the priestess Igraine and her daughter Morgan to safety as Avalon was destroyed in a massive volcanic eruption. What followed was a similar recounting of Arthurian legend, including the priestess marrying a man named Goloris of the Tin Islands, Goloris being slain by King Uther who then married Igraine and bore a son named Arthur and that when Morgan reached adolescence she accompanied Myraddin to the Aran Island under his tutelage . Origins of Merlyn According to Earth-148 On Earth-148 it is believed that Merlyn was born on an alternate earth as a member of a race of immortal, powerful beings. He became the student of Necrom, his world's Sorcerer Supreme. Necrom asked Merlyn and his fellow-student Feron to assist him in a magical ritual. Feron contacted the cosmic Phoenix Force on Earth-616 and using the Phoenix an alignment was created between parallel universes. This assignment was marked with a tower in the same place on every Earth in the Omniverse. According to magical principles, such an alignment would create a matrix of nearly endless magical energy. Necrom desired the power of the Phoenix for himself and he attacked Feron. Feron, his powers enhanced by the Phoenix, battled his master and Merlyn used the opportunity to jump into the Matrix, taking its power for his own. Necrom wounded the Phoenix and escaped with a small part of it. The Phoenix left Feron who stayed behind on Earth-616, dedicating his life to asking the Phoenix for forgiveness. Merlyn travelled to Otherworld and established himself as Omniversal Guardian, safeguarding the total of all universes in existence. With the powers of the Matrix, Merlyn dedicated himself to protecting the universe and finding Necrom. Necrom hid and planned for the next few centuries, changing the part of the Phoenix Force that he had stolen into the Anti-Phoenix . Ties to the Arthurian Legend The origins of Merlyn on Earth-616 are steeped in the Arthurian myth of Camelot and contradict the events the origins that are said to have occurred on Earth-148. On Earth-616 the legends state that Merlyn (or Merlin as he is commonly known in that realm) was the son of a demon and the virginal daughter of King Conann of Dryfed in a region that is now known as Wales located on the Island of Great Britain. Learning that she was seduced by a demon who posed as a knight, Merlin's mother consulted a priest and agreed to drink holy water and become a nun under a vow of chastity to insure that he son did not become inherently evil upon his birth. As a young boy living in the town of Carmarthen, Merlin was captured by King Vortigem who sought to sacrifice the boy as part of a ritual that would allow him to build a tower in the Welsh mountains. Merlin's powers revealed that the reason the construction of the tower failed in the past was due to a pool beneath its foundation. When Vortigem and his men investigated they unleashed the dragons that were imprisoned there and both parties slew each other. Merlin saw this as an omen that foretold the coming of a great kingdom and its king that would one day rise and rule over the a United England. Foreseeing that this king would come from Vortigem's successor, King Uther Pendragon, Merlin sought to manipulate events so that his omen would come to pass. During his reign King Uther clashed with Gorlois the Duke of Tintagel. During these conflicts Uther became attracted to Gorlois' wife Igraine. Merlin played on Uther's carnal desires by using his magics to make Uther appear to be Gorlois to facilitate a coupling between Uther and Igraine, in exchange for ownership of Uther's firstborn son. As fate would have it, Gorlois was slain in battle and Uther wed Igraine, who begat the king a son: Arthur. Arthur was given to Merlin, who left the boy in the care of the knight Sir Ector with Merlin acting as tutor for the boy in the years to come, he later instructed Uther to construct the Round Table that would become part of the legend of the future King Arthur . Also during this period, Merlin also befriended Arthur's distant relative the Baron of Scandia and remained a friend of the family, another part of his plans that would see fruition in the future . Following the death of Uther, Britain was torn asunder to find a successor to the throne. Once again Merlin's manipulations saw that his omens came true: Creating the sword Excalibur and embedding it in stone, he told the people that their next ruler would be able to successfully pull the sword from the stone would become the successor to the throne of England. As Merlin ordained, Arthur pulled the sword from the stone and was crowned the next king of England. Merlin remained with Arthur and was his advisor over the coming decades. However King Arthur briefly romanced Queen Morgause, who unknown to him was the daughter of Gorlois and Igraine, making her his half-sister. This coupling begot a son, Mordred whom Merlin warned would bring the downfall of Camelot . In time, Merlin began teaching sorcery to Morgan le Fay sister of Morgause, Morgan became the his lover in return . As Morgan and Merlin worked together, Morgan began to worship the Earth goddess Gaea, but rift between the lovers when Merlin seemingly turned his back on Gaea, leading to a six day battle outside Avalon's altar of sacred trees, bringing their romance to an end . As Mordred reached adulthood and began plotting the downfall of Camelot, Merlin then sought out Sir Percy of Scandia to train him to be the champion of Camelot, training him in all forms of combat . Camelot - 6th Century AD During the golden age of Camelot Merlin continued his duties as advisor to King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table while working in secret to try and prevent Camelot's fall. The earliest recorded activities of Merlin during this period involved him manipulating the 20th century time traveler known as Tommy Tyme into coming back to the 6th Century to assist King Arthur and his knights in rescuing a maiden from the clutches of an evil Black Knight . Later, Merlin defended Arthur and Queen Guinevere from the demon Asmodair and his son Belair who sought to slay Arthur . Continuing his plans to install Sir Percy as his agent against Mordred, Merlin came into the possession of a Starstone meteorite, unaware that he was assisted by Professor Justin Alphonse Gamble of the Time Variance Authority who had thwarted his foes the Incinerators from obtaining it. Merlin obtained the meteor by bartering his Book of Skelos in exchange. Merlin used the Starstone to construct the Ebony Blade . Merlin attempted to find one worthy to wield the Ebony Blade. All those who used it became corrupt and driven mad, forcing Merlin to kill them. He eventually realized that the sword could not corrupt one who was truly pure at heart . Also during this period, Merlin amassed what was later referred to as the "Merlin Stones" and defeated the tyrant known as Sir Morgard with an animated suit of armor he dubbed "The Black Knight" . Shortly thereafter Merlin called upon Sir Percy and sent him to Camelot under and pose as a cowardly fop in order to avoid suspicion of being Merlin's champion the Black Knight. Merlin then tipped Sir Percy of an attempt on King Arthur's life by assassins hired by Mordred and Morgan le Fay. The Black Knight thwarted this attempt and was officially knighted by King Arthur . Following this victory, Merlin took the Black Knight to the secret Pool of Blood where he presented the Knight with weapons forged out of the Starstone: A lance, staff, shield and sword, and told him of the coming fall of Camelot and that the right choice of weapon could prevent the prophecies. The Black Knight chose the Ebony Blade and Merlin seemingly destroyed all the other weapons, unaware that Mordred and Morgan le Fay managed to preserve the Ebony Staff, setting in motion the events that would see the downfall of Camelot . Shortly thereafter, when King Arthur went missing and Mordred took control of the throne, Merlin informed the Black Knight that the King was locked in the castle dungeon. The Black Knight freed King Arthur who then reclaimed his throne, during the course of this mission Merlin showed Sir Percy secret passage ways within the castle that allowed him to better preserve his identity by allowing him to travel freely in the castle . Merlin's crystal ball later revealed another plot by Mordred to eliminate King Arthur by challenging him to a joust with a poison laced lance. Merlin warned the Black Knight who took Mordred's challenge instead and easily defeated him . Later when the Black Knight was injured in a contest, Merlin helped his agent escape before he could be unmasked. Later when Mordred determined that Sir Percy had similar injuries as the Black Knight, Merlin briefly posed as the Knight in order to maintain Sir Percy's double identity. On the King's birthday, Merlin warned the Black Knight that Mordred had hired Gypsies to murder King Arthur while on a lion hunt, this plot was also thwarted . When King Arthur and his ward Lady Rosamund were kidnapped by French-Sicilian pirates under the employ of Mordred, Merlin used his magic to help the Black Knight locate the island they were being held prisoner on, allowing the hero to rescue them . Also during this period, Merlin was briefly transported to the Balkan mountains circa the 20th Century. There he found that he was summoned because his diary was found by an American tourist who scoffed at the existance of magic. Merlin then transported him to the 6th Century to teach him the errors of his way before returning the man to the 20th Century . Not long after this, recently exiled Roman emperor Tyrannus attempted to invade Camelot but was defeated by the Black Knight. Merlin then banished him to Subterranea . Following this, Merlin and the Black Knight left Camelot to clash with Mordan le Fay, and Merlin was briefly impersonated by an impostor known as the Maha Yogi . One account states that around this time Merlin banished the demon Chthon within his prison in Wundagore Mountain . However, after constant conflict with Morgan le Fay, Merlin was incapable of preventing the young mage Modred the Mystic from falling under the influence of Chthon upon using the Book of the Darkhold . It took the combination of Merlin and the Catholic Church's Sir Brendan to combine their power to defeat the Darkhold and entomb Modred, whom remained in entombed for many centuries . Likewise, when Merlin returned home to Camelot he found the Maha Yogi impersonating him and also entombed the impostor for centuries to come . The Fall of Camelot --------- Captain Britain Corps At some point after the Necrom incident and possibly either during, after, or possibly simultaneously during his time in Camelot-616, Merlyn founded the Captain Britain Corps, a group of matrix-powered superheroes based on each Earth in the omniverse. Merlyn sent his best agent, Sir James Braddock, to Earth-616 to father a hero. James' first son, Jamie Braddock , was unsuitable for Merlyn's purposes, but the twins Elisabeth and Brian both were. Merlyn chose Brian to become Earth-616's Captain Britain and he would be pivotal to Merlyn's plans. Modern Age Over the years, Merlyn manipulated Brian to become a stronger and wiser hero. He partnered Brian with the Black Knight (another of Merlyn's champions, like the bizarrely named Kilgore Slaughter) to teach him more about magic. Merlyn used Brian to stop Mad Jim Jaspers, a reality warping mutant who threatened the fabric of the multiverse itself. Merlyn seemingly died in the battle between Jaspers and the cyborg monstrosity called The Fury. Merlyn was buried and his daughter Roma took over as Omniversal Guardian. Merlyn faked his death though and hid, even from his daughter. In secret he manipulated his daughter and Captain Britain to form Excalibur, a team of superheroes, who would become his weapon against Necrom. Excalibur would take the tower that was part of the Matrix as their base, not knowing the true meaning of this building. Necrom resurfaced and fought Excalibur. In the battle, Rachel Summers killed Necrom and Merlyn appeared to congratulate Excalibur. Excalibur were furious at Merlyn for manipulating them and endangering them all. Roma, also disappointed in her father's callous behavior, assisted Excalibur in destroying their tower and by extension the Matrix. Merlyn left in a rage at losing his source of power. Merlyn and Roma both met occasionally on Otherworld, but Merlyn didn't retake his position as Omniversal Guardian, trusting his daughter to protect the Omniverse. He was nowhere to be seen when Mastermind took over Otherworld or during the House of M event. With the recent return of Mad Jim Jaspers, Merlyn has shown up as his ally, helping him return the Fury to life. Later, following Merlyn's defeat by Excalibur, another version of him-claiming to be 'Merlyn the wise' and referring to his 'evil' self as 'Merlyn the mad'-was released from imprisonment by Pete Wisdom of MI13 and seemingly resurrected the apparently dead Captain Britain. | Powers = Merlyn has many immense magical powers, possibly related to his immortality, and has also trained himself so that he as developed other powers. He is possibly multiversal, though he can make duplicates of himself. He can create illusions, change his shape, observe other realities, raise the dead and manipulate energy. Sometimes he uses advanced technology to help him. He has claimed in the past to be the Merlin who aided King Arthur at Camelot, and there is evidence to support this, though it is not really possible to separate the truth about Merlyn from the web of half truths he has woven around himself. | Abilities = | Strength = | Weaknesses = | Equipment = | Transportation = | Weapons = | Notes = | Trivia = | Links = }} Category:Shapeshifters Category:Captain Britain Supporting Cast Category:Captain Britain Corps members Category:Omniverse